Sports SUmmary: Waiters becomes first Orange player to reach NBA Finals in 40 years
Sports SUmmary: SU alumni make strides and cross-country teams defend their title.
Dion Waiters, a guard with the Los Angeles Lakers, became the first former Syracuse player to reach the NBA Finals in four decades with L.A.’s 4-1 series victory over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference.
The last Syracuse player to play in the finals was Marty Byrnes in 1980, also for the Lakers. Byrnes only appeared in Game 6, and failed to score in this appearance, but Los Angeles went on to win the championship over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Waiters will become only the fourth ever former SU basketball player to make it to the NBA Finals, behind Byrnes, Dennis DuVal and Billy Gabor.
Syracuse fans can watch Waiters and the Lakers take on the Miami Heat in the Finals on Sept. 30 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Former SU standout sacks Prescott for Seattle win
Alton Robinson, a former SU football defensive star, is making his presence known in his first NFL season.
The three-year starter for the Orange was drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and secured a spot on the Seattle Seahawks’ active roster. Eager to prove he deserves his new roster spot, Robinson has been rewarded with significant playing time.
In Seattle’s most recent game against the Dallas Cowboys, Robinson’s sack on quarterback Dak Prescott was instrumental in keeping the Cowboys from scoring and giving the Seahawks the win.
In the final seconds of the game, rookie Alton Robinson records his first NFL sack! ????
????: FOX pic.twitter.com/4y2IQoveWP
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 28, 2020
Cross country completes clean sweep in Beantown
The men’s and women’s cross-country teams defended their titles by sweeping the Three Team Battle in Beantown this past Friday. This was the fourth consecutive win in Boston for the men’s team and the second straight for the women.
The SU men’s team took home eight of the top 10 finishers in the 8K race, while the women posted four of the top eight spots.
Redshirt senior JP Trojan and senior Amanda Vestri, who took home league honors in the first week of the season, earned their second individual victories. Trojan ran his 8k race in 24:41 and Vestri won the 5k with a time of 17:23.
is the Sports Lead Producer for The NewsHouse.
